A person suffering from Asthma may have rather considerable trouble in breathing when suffering from an asthmatic attack, due to the swelling in the bronchii and due to secretion of mucous. There are various anti-asthmatic pills that are effective, which generally are somewhat slow acting. There are also medications available for intravenous treatment which work quite rapidly, but which require administration by skilled medical personnel. For most patients the promptest, immediately available relief is by way of an inhalant. Epinephrine or other suitable asthmatic medication is packaged with a suitable diluent in a small pressurized canister or cartridge which interfits with a mouthpiece. The patient places the mouthpiece in his mounth, and depresses the cartridge, thereby releasing a measured amount of medication which is inhaled through the mouthpiece.
Some patients do not inhale properly, and the mouthpiece may not be completely effective in cooperation with the cartridge to convert the medication into a mist which is deposited in the proper bronchial area to relieve the asthmatic attack. Often there are small droplets, rather than a mist, and this may be compounded by improper inhalation which results in much of the medication simply going into the throat and stomach where it is ineffective against the asthmatic attack.
In the prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,470,412 in the names of Christopher Nowacki and Alfred G. Brisson, there is disclosed a remarkably efficient and low cost inhalation valve in the nature of an extended mouthpiece for a broncho dialator which aids the asthmatic sufferer in properly inhaling, and in breaking up droplets into a mist form. This inhalation valve has achieved extensive commercial success.
The inhalation valve as discussed above is for use by a patient who can take the mouthpiece thereof into his mouth and inhale and exhale through the mouthpiece. Infants, including babies and small children, cannot be relied upon properly to hold the mouthpiece in the mouth, and indeed, the infant's mouth may be too small for the mouthpiece. Furthermore, it cannot be ascertained with certainty under some conditions whether a baby or small child is properly inhaling and exhaling.
In application Ser. No. 058,683, referenced above, there is disclosed a pediatric asthmatic inhaler which includes a mask-like adaptor fitting over the infant's mouth and nose and sealing to the face, whereby breathing by the infant effects proper inhalation, and exhalation through the valve. A whistle-like device is provided in the adaptor which generates sound upon either or both inhalation and exhalation, whereby a party applying the inhalation valve and medication to an infant may be sure that the medication is being breathed in. This prior pediatric asthmatic medication inhaler works satisfactorily under most conditions. However, for an infant, particularly a baby, in which the volume of inhalation or exhalation may be rather small, and wherein the inhalation or exhalation might also be rather weak, the sound generated is not very loud. Under some circumstances in a noisy environment it may be difficult to hear the sound, and with very low-level respiration the whistle may fail to generate any audible sound. The tapered foam molding of the inhaler requires a rather expensive mold, and the whistle must be inserted as a separate manufacturing step, or requires sophisticated molding techniques if the whistle is to be molded in place.